Manalive
READING AGE 16+
(1912)
A Novel by G. K. Chesterton detailing a popular theme both in his own philosophy, and in Christianity, of the 'holy fool', such as in Dostoevsky's The i***t and Cervantes' Don Quixote.
This clever and comical work Chesterton's arguably most memorable and brilliantly constructed character, Innocent Smith, the "allegorical practical joker." Literally blown in by a gusty London wind to Beacon House, Smith immediately transforms the unhappy atmosphere of the house with his insane zest for life. At the height of their new-found joy, however, the residents are shocked as Smith apparently tries to murder one of their numbers. As they investigate his past, they find charges of multiple murder attempts, robberies, desertion of his wife, and polygamy. In the makeshift home trial that ensues, it is up to moody Irish writer Michael Moon to prove the impossible--that Smith's seemingly heinous acts are perfectly innocent; that "everything is wrong about him, except that he has done no wrong."--Submitted by Anonymous.
Unfold
Mary was walking between Diana and Rosamund slowly up and down the garden; they were silent, and the sun had set. Such spaces of daylight as remained open in the west were of a warm-tinted white, which can be compared to nothing but a cream cheese; and the lines of plumy cloud that ran across them had a soft but vivid violet bloom, like a violet……
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